I have had a temporary crown placed and a week later, throbbing pain is waking me up at night. Is this normal?

This is common after an extensive procedure on a tooth that has had years of trauma from being filled more than once, lots of deep decay or excessive bite forces put on it. The nerve and blood vessel in the tooth is fragile and sometimes cannot stand the trauma. Swelling occurs in the tooth and causes pain. Pain usually goes away but if it does not subside in a few days, the potential for irreversible change is possible. Your dentist should be made aware of this and do one of two things:  1. a root canal to remove the irritated nerve if the pain is too severe or 2. place the new crown on with temporary cement to see if the pain resolves on its own before moving to the root canal treatment.

Hi:Please let your dentist about the throbbing pain right away.  It is possible that the bite on the temporary has to be adjusted or there might be clenching or grinding pressure on the temporary.  Best,Dr. Maddahi